Ruth Todd

Ruth Todd (October 22, 1913 – August 19, 1984) was an American geologist, paleontologist, and a leading figure in the field of foraminiferal research. She worked for various organizations, such as the U.S. Geological Survey and the Cushman Laboratory for Foraminiferal Research in Sharon, Massachusetts.

Early life Todd was born on October 22, 1913, in Seattle, Washington, the eldest of five children of John Nelson and Margaret Fordyce Todd. The family lived on Mercer Island in Lake Washington until 1925, when her father moved them to Gering Valley in Nebraska, to help run her grandfather's farm. Todd had kept a journal that documented her times living and helping on the farm. Upon the latter's death in 1928, the family returned to Mercer Island.

Career As part of the U.S. Geological Survey, Todd was able to advance her research into the fields of ecology-paleoecology and stratigraphy.

Another notable moment for Todd occurred in 1959 when she shared, with Paul Blackmon, the Society of Economic Paleontologists and Mineralogists Best Paper Award in the Journal of Paleontology. The paper became well noted for the mineralogy of foraminiferan tests.

During, and once retired from her research Todd enjoyed giving back to the community. She did so by giving short talks to both science teachers and science classes in the Martha's Vineyard Regional Highschool. Todd also allocated a notable amount of her time to discussions with past colleagues, discussing much of her research from all over the globe.

Retirement and death

Todd retired from the U.S. Geological Survey in 1974 but continued to spend her time in the library of the Marine Biological Laboratory in Woods Hole, Massachusetts, preparing lists of current publications and writing thoughtful annotations in the Journal of Farminiferal Research.

On August 19, 1984, she died of a heart attack on the island of Martha’s Vineyard, where she had lived and worked for the last ten years after retiring.